E-commerce & Retail News Hub
Agentic healthcare platform Flexzo AI raises £9m
Flexzo AI, an agentic workforce system for healthcare providers has completed a $12m (£8.9m) Series A funding round led by Octopus Ventures. The hospital workforce management tool provider said the financing will support the rollout of its platform a...
Unilever confirms approach for foods division amid break-up speculation
Unilever has confirmed it has received an approach for its foods division, as speculation continues over a potential separation of the business. The FMCG giant said it is currently in discussions with McCormick & Company, Inc. following an inbound of...
Currys triples London HQ footprint as hybrid working strategy drives expansion
Currys has nearly tripled the size of its London headquarters at WeWork’s 10 York Road in Waterloo, as the retailer doubles down on its hybrid working model. The omnichannel electricals retailer will expand its space from 6,700 sq ft to 18,200 sq ft,...
The Works exits ecommerce to focus on store-led growth as profits outlook improves
The Works has shut down its ecommerce operations with immediate effect as it looks to simplify its business model and double down on its store-led strategy. The value retailer said it will transition to a non-transactional website, with the online ch...
Footasylum appoints former Gymshark executive Hannah Mercer as CEO
Footasylum has appointed former Gymshark executive Hannah Mercer as chief executive officer, as the retailer looks to accelerate its growth and international expansion. Mercer will take up the role from the start of May, bringing more than three deca...
UK risks ‘jobless generation’ as retail employment falls to record low
The UK retail sector could be at risk of creating a “jobless generation” after employment in the industry fell to its lowest level on record, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics. Retail employment averaged 2.81 million roles...
Consumer confidence slides as geopolitical tensions add pressure to UK retail
UK consumer confidence has fallen sharply in March, adding further strain to an already pressured retail sector as geopolitical uncertainty weighs on spending intentions. According to GlobalData’s latest UK Consumer Sentiment report, future consumer ...
Game closes final standalone stores as high street presence ends
Game will close its remaining standalone stores next month, bringing an end to its presence as a dedicated high street retailer after more than three decades. The video games retailer has confirmed that its final three stores, located in Dudley, Lanc...
Ikea owner Ingka to cut 800 roles as CEO says it has “grown too complex”
Ingka Group, the largest Ikea retailer, is set to cut around 800 roles as part of a wider move to simplify its organisation and sharpen its focus on core retail operations. The restructuring will primarily impact Group Functions and is designed to st...
Spar taps Mr Motivator for spring campaign to drive footfall and frequency
Spar has launched a UK-wide marketing campaign fronted by Mr Motivator as it looks to drive footfall, increase visit frequency and reinforce its role within local communities. The ‘ Fuel Your Spring ’ campaign, which went live today, centres on a mon...
John Lewis and LABRUM unveil second collaboration
John Lewis has unveiled its second collaboration with British menswear brand LABRUM. The new collection launched this week and combines John Lewis’ “commitment to quality” with LABRUM’s “narrative style”. It features Nomoli and Adinkra symbols, which...
AI use is outpacing AI skills
Since 2022, the use of AI in the workplace has been consistently climbing, with both businesses and politicians encouraging the establishment of an AI-enabled workforce. Though it is clear that AI is a part of many people’s daily professional routine...
Zopa Bank earnings soar in third year of profit
Pre-tax profits at the digital bank Zopa have surged to £65m in the London fintech’s third year of profitability. The bank reported a pre-tax profit of £65m for the financial year ended December 2025, almost double the previous year. The strong perfo...
OPINION: Five forces reshaping the checkout in Germany
Although its retail sector is known for stability and operational discipline , at the checkout in Germany, significant changes are underway, says Jean-Philippe Niedergang, acting group CEO / EMEA-PACIFIC-LATAM CEO, Castles Technology. Rising labour c...
AI has yet to hurt SME jobs despite massive adoption
The incorporation of AI by small businesses has yet to meaningfully impact the size of workforces, despite soaring adoption rates, new research suggests. According to research from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) in partnership with Atos, more...
Ex-Klarna executive joins Tide’s C-suite
Bernie Miles, a former executive at buy now pay later (BNPL) firm Klarna, has joined the C-suite of fintech group Tide. Miles joins the SME financial platform as its new chief data and technology officer where he will oversee the business’s push into...
Unilever weighs food business separation in major strategic pivot
Unilever is exploring a potential separation of its food division in a move that would mark one of the most significant strategic overhauls in its modern history. According to reports, the FMCG giant is in early-stage discussions with advisers about ...
Is Sainsbury’s ‘misleading the public’ with freshly baked marketing claims?
Sainsbury’s has reportedly confirmed that it no longer makes any bread from scratch in its in-store bakeries, as scrutiny grows over how supermarkets market “freshly baked” products. In a response to the Real Bread Campaign, a Sainsbury’s customer ca...
Northern tech sectors to receive billion-pound boost
The Chancellor has announced a £1.7bn investment package that will go towards scaling the tech and industrial strengths of various cities in northern England. Part of a larger previously announced £2.3bn industrial investment package, the new funding...
DFS nearly doubles profit despite footfall slump as wet weather hits retail
Furniture retailer DFS has almost doubled its half-year profit despite a slowdown in store footfall. The London-listed group reported a pre-tax profit of £30m for the first half, up from £16m in the same period last year, as revenue rose nine per cen...
Tesco invests £200m in pay as hourly rates rise by 5.1% to above £13
Hundreds of thousands of Tesco employees are set to receive a pay rise this month, as the UK’s largest supermarket ramps up investment in frontline staff amid intensifying competition across the grocery sector. From 29 March, hourly pay for store wor...
Partech investment fund secures £17m boost
Partech Partners has secured a €20m (£17.3m) commitment from the British Business Bank in support of its €300m (£260m) Impact Fund. Founded 40 years ago, Partech is a Paris-based technology investor that backs European impact firms addressing societa...
UK rolls back AI copyright plan in win for creatives
The UK government has rolled back previously announced plans to introduce a broad copyright exception with an opt-out option for the training of AI models on copyrighted materials. Announced in a new report published by the Tech Department on Wednesd...
The subscription economy in early 2026: from retention wars to modular monetisation
The subscription economy is entering one of its most transformative periods yet, as 2026 gets underway. Markets have matured, consumers are more selective, and the era of frictionless growth has given way to a more demanding landscape in which value,...
UK deepens ties with Ukraine space sector
The UK Space Agency has committed to working closely with its equivalent in Ukraine as the countries look to develop one of the most promising industries for the future. An agreement was signed between the UK Space Agency and the State Space Agency o...
SubscriptionsX 2026: The summit shaping the future of recurring revenue
As subscription commerce continues to mature, SubscriptionsX 2026 is set to return on 17 June 2026 at Convene, London , bringing fresh insight into one of retail’s fastest-evolving business models. The one‑day summit forms part of the RetailX Summer ...
AI real estate platform VerbaFlo raises £5m
VerbaFlo, a real estate platform that centres conversational AI in its service, has raised a $7m (£5.24m) seed round. Founded in 2024, VerbaFlo was built to incorporate AI into real estate, automating leasing, operations and providing a conversationa...
Boden widen entry into US market with opening of second store
Boden is set to open its second US store in Nashville, Tennessee this summer. The 1700 sq ft store, which is located at Hill Center Green Hills, represents “the next step” in Boden’s growing physical presence in the US, according to the British cloth...
Battersea Power Station director on why social influence is redefining retail destinations
Social media has transformed how we perceive and engage with the world around us, writes Battersea Power Station’s leasing director Harriett Renny. But how important is social media to landlords making brand decisions on the retail and leisure mix wi...
Moonpig forecasts profit growth and unveils £65m share buyback
Moonpig Group forecast profit growth for its full financial year, as it unveiled a new £65 million share buyback. In a trading update for April 2025 to the end of April 2026, the cards specialist said it expected to deliver its FY26 guidance of mid-s...